1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to sports equipment, and more specifically, to hockey pucks designed for use on non-ice play surfaces.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A problem long recognized by street and court hockey players involves the non-ice playing surface, typically of asphalt, concrete, tennis court, Sport Court, coated hardtop, or wood construction. Many of these surfaces lack the smoothness of ice hockey playing surfaces, causing players to encounter more friction when moving a hockey puck across the area of play, and ultimately slowing the pace of the game. Many types of proposed surface alterations to the typical puck have aimed to alleviate this problem. Often these pucks designed for non-ice play, are fabricated from lighter, less durable materials than their ice hockey counterparts (plastic instead of rubber), resulting in a reduction in play quality, equipment authenticity, and in some cases, the need to frequently replace the puck to sustain play due to breakage. This substitution also causes players to lose the "feel" associated with the ice hockey puck. Existing street and court hockey pucks have other shortcomings as well.
The puck described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,366,219 comprises a hollow plastic shell and a plastic interior "spider" frame, having ground engaging projections, known as runners, that penetrate the shell on its top and bottom surfaces. While the runners elevate the puck body, preventing its contact with the playing surface, they cover little surface area relative to the overall size of the puck, causing them to wear quickly, and lacking stability on less than pristine playing surfaces. This eliminates its intended friction-reducing quality. As the runners wear from usage, the puck body makes contact with the playing surface.
Other street hockey pucks also feature a runner structure for improved maneuverability along non-ice playing surfaces. U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,184,820, 5,288,072 and 5,346,214 all, incorporate hemispherical surface articulations to aid puck performance. Unfortunately again, the shape and size of the runners on the hockey pucks of '820, '072, and '214 and their small surface area with respect to the size of the puck surface area, causes them to behave erratically on play surfaces that have irregularities. Even fairly smooth playing surfaces such as coated concrete, or tennis court surfaces are irregular enough to greatly reduce puck performance in a game known for fluidity and speed.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,482,274 describes another variation on the runner design. Rather than having runners that integrally connect the puck surface, '274 proposes runners having a head partially retained in a recess in the puck. Each recess acts as a support for its runner to reduce the chance of breakage. Stabilizing runners also project from both of the puck surfaces to prevent the puck from flipping over. Despite its specialized runner design, the invention of '274 utilizes runners that are rounded, small, and prone to catching in small cracks, holes, or other irregularities in various playing surfaces. In the cases of Patents '274 and '219, their performances are not only limited by surface conditions, but by climate conditions as well. The materials used in the construction of both inventions are prone to crack and break in cold weather, rendering them impractical for use outdoors in cold climates, many of which hockey is frequently played.
Perhaps the greatest shortcoming in the design of the above patents is the absence of any friction-reducing means (such as runners) on the peripheral edges of the top and bottom puck surfaces. The runners of Patents '274, and '219 are only effective at reducing friction when the puck is lying flat, and the puck runners are in contact with the playing surface. During play however, the occurrence of the puck being propelled from a flat position to a position where either peripheral edge makes contact with the playing surface, is frequent and inevitable over the course of a game. This condition is common even in ice hockey, where friction is greatly less, relative to the puck-to-playing surface condition of non-ice play. The low friction interaction between puck edge and ice is what enables players to maintain its control from the flat position, or on edge, upwards of angles approaching 90 degrees from horizontal. In the case of roller hockey pucks where there are no runners, or other means, to reduce friction at either of the two edges where it is greatly needed, the resultant behavior is unfavorable for puck handling, in the form of hopping and bouncing. This unpredictable condition greatly diminishes game quality on the whole, as well as the talents and skills of individual players.
Furthermore, many existing pucks for street and court hockey, which are constructed from plastic, are uncharacteristically lightweight. The pucks of U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,482,274 and 5,366,219 weigh approximately 3 ounces, and lack the density, center of gravity, and "feel" of an ice hockey puck which is made of vulcanized rubber, weighing approximately 6 ounces, and having a hardness of approximately 80 Durometer. Lightweight pucks make it difficult to handle by feel, causing the puck handler to have to look to the ground with more frequency to maintain its control.
The pucks described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,346,214 and 5,482,274 have runners made of nylon, which in conjunction with small surface area, tend to wear quickly. Other materials have more favorable properties, and would wear less and endure longer than nylon in this capacity. None of the above inventions and Patents, taken either singly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed.